Apex - Heat - anyway to smooth out graph

[User1]

Hi Everyone. Hope weekend is going well. Quick question. Is there any trick to smoothing out the heater on/off cycle to maintain a more steady temperature? I was looking at the graph and was expecting a more steady or smooth line not the spikes I see. Code seems pretty straight forward that says if 78 on and 79 off.

Figured I'd ask. Thanks

Edit: Heater and probe are both in the sump. I am going to move the probe to the display to see if that makes a difference. I think it is the smarter thing to do anyway unless I had a 2nd one in which case I could do both...

Fallback OFF
If Tmp < 78.0 Then ON
If Tmp > 79.0 Then OFF

 

[jml1149]

Not sure I understand what you're asking, do you want to decrease the range of temperature like this:

Fallback OFF
If Tmp < 78.5 Then ON
If Tmp > 79.0 Then OFF

I think its smart to keep a temp probe in the display, otherwise you're regulating the temperature of the vessel the temp probe is contained in (sump or other).

 

[User1]

Hi jml1149 - thanks. I probably didn't explain it well, sorry. The temperature graph is all spikes and I was assuming it would be more gradual or steady or smooth. Looking at the graph it seems to change hourly. Probably not a huge deal I guess and due to the location of heater and probe. I am going to disconnect the probe tomorrow and relocate it to the display tank. I'm thinking that will smooth it out I bet or keep it more consistent.

Thanks again.

 

[ZachR32]

there are better heater specific controllers out there's than apex. I would use something built specifically for the heater and use your apex for a secondary monitor to get a more stable range. Otherwise not much you can do besides climate control the room the fish tank is in

 

[don_chuwish]

How warm do you keep the room? If it's a cold room then the tank cools quickly - spike down. Heater comes on, spike up. In warmer seasons it is a much more gradual line on the way down, but will always spike up when the heater comes on.

 

[Ranjib]

what you tank volume, and heater wattage?

 

[jonathan9573]

I had this same question a few years back and after a few reply’s and really figuring out what I’m looking at I realized that the range on the graph makes it look like the temp has major temp fluctuations. In reality it’s only one degree change as it is in your graph. If you were to view your temp over say a month it would look a lot smoother. You have a 1 degree drop over maybe 1 1/2. The only way the you could theoretically get it almost smooth is to have a heater that would ramp up and ramp down instead of just turn on and off. Hope this helps.

 

[User1]

Thanks all. I appreciate the replies.

I am in Northern California just outside Sacramento area. It gets cold in the morning so the house ranges from 67 to 72. I'm not using the heater at the moment. The tank is in my den but it stays pretty consistent I would think due to some desktop computers - or so I think. Tanks is about 210 gallons (54" W x 30" T x 30" D) with a sump. Forget how much it holds but I'd wager 16 gallons or so. Heater is 800W Finnex.

@jonathan9573 that makes a lot of sense. Thanks.

Tank is finishing cycling anyway so no harm would have been done. Just trying to get it ready so I can migrate my 40 breeder into it. Day 29 and on Friday test reading showed Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0.2, and Nitrate 20. So just trying to tie out some loose ends before I start moving stuff possibly later in the month.

Thanks again everyone tips and advise. Appreciate it.

 

[don_chuwish]

Definitely no harm. Perfectly normal pattern. Mine is set to hold a 0.5 deg range:

 

[vic5hands]

Have a 1000 watt heater in my sump for a 210 gallon

Monitored by apex but not controlled

 

[Waters]

As jonathan9573 stated, you just have to look what it is displaying......it is just the way the Apex graphs numbers. It doesn't matter if it is a .1 degree difference from 79.9 to 80.0. The graph will still show the same spikes between those two temperatures.

 

[jonathan9573]

I think at worst, the smaller the range in temp that the apex it set at, the more on/off cycles it will do in a given time. So depending on what outlet on the apex and what heater you are using the machanical parts of those devices could wear out earlier. Although this is a very minimal wear and I would focus more on your target temp then trying to prolong the life of a device by shorting the amount of cycles it makes.

 

[lbacha]

Turning on and off is what wears a heater out so I wouldn't make the range too small as it will turn on and off quite a bit. The good thing is heaters are cheap and the apex will warn you when it eventually dies I use 2 heaters just in case one dies the second is set at a lower set point than the first so it will back up the first if it dies and I can then replace it when I can instead of it becoming an energency

 

[User1]

Thanks again all. I didn't consider or even factor in the device switching on/off all the time nor the impact on the heater. Dump question - does this impact the Apex energy bar then or is this so minute that it doesn't matter.

 

[lbacha]

Thanks again all. I didn't consider or even factor in the device switching on/off all the time nor the impact on the heater. Dump question - does this impact the Apex energy bar then or is this so minute that it doesn't matter.

I believe the energy bar uses relays which are mechanical and anything mechanical inevitably wears out. I'm not sure the quality of the relays on the energy bar but I would assume they can handle it

 

[Waters]

I prefer to just use cheap heaters and keep the temperature swings to a minimum.......mine doesn't fluctuate more than 1 degree. If it breaks, the Apex will notify me and I will throw another cheap heater in there. Stability is key with reef tanks

 

[BZOFIQ]

My graphs is the same, it's actual and not average based hence the jagged appearance.

 

[User1]

Yeah - I'm starting to think so as well. It is about the same moving the probe from the sump to the main display. If I narrow down the graph window it is a lot smoother. I guess I was worrying about nothing and ignorant of how Apex handles this stuff.